Chestnut and Chocolate Bundt Cake

Lately we've been talking a lot about Bundt cake pans. They give a simple sponge cake a phenomenal appearance. But if you also make the cake with care and a few well-chosen ingredients, the result will be exquisite. And that's exactly what Miriam, author of El invitado de Invierno, has done by telling us how to make this delicious and beautiful chestnut and chocolate bundt.

Bundt cakes are something the Americans made fashionable, like almost everything. And we all followed. These very pretty pans with such intricate designs were popularized in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s by the company Nordic Ware and are inspired by the shape of kugelhopf molds, a sweet bread typical of Germany and Alsace. These Bundt pans are made of cast aluminum and distribute heat wonderfully.

Because these pans have a very intricate pattern what I do to grease them well is melt the butter and brush the pan with a silicone brush. If the environment isn't very warm the thin film of butter solidifies instantly and that way we reach all the nooks and crannies, which are many. If you want more tips on how to properly use a Bundt pan I suggest this blog post.

Ingredients

• 400 g sugar
• 250 g cake flour
• 60 g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 200 g cooked chestnuts
• 120 ml lukewarm water
• 120 ml milk
• 120 ml olive oil
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• Icing sugar for dusting

Preparation

1. We weigh and sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. We add the sugar and salt. Set aside.
2. In a bowl we put the eggs, the cooked chestnuts, the milk, the water, the olive oil and the vanilla extract. We beat to crush the chestnuts; they don't need to be completely crushed, finding some little piece has its charm.
3. We prepare the pan by brushing it with melted butter and then dusting it with some additional cocoa; better cocoa than flour, since the cake is dark and flour would appear as a white film.
4. We mix the liquids with the dry ingredients until homogeneous and pour the batter into the prepared pan. We bake the cake 45 minutes at 185°, without fan so it doesn't dry out. We test if it's done with a skewer and take it out.
5. We wait at least 10 minutes for it to cool slightly and unmold it very carefully onto a rack. Let cool.
6. When we are going to serve it we place it on a nice platter and dust it with the icing sugar. Nothing else is needed…